Category: News

FOUND! Jean Luc Picard. Thank you Science.

May 10th, 2010

Its in today’s on-line issue of Discovery News. The caption next to this picture reads: “Homo neanderthalensis.”

“The “Old Man of La Chapelle” was recreated from the skull and jaw of a Homo neanderthalensis male found near La Chapelle-aux-Saints, in France in 1908. He lived 56,000 years ago.

His relatively old age, thought to be between 40 to 50 years old, indicates he was well looked after by a clan.

The old man’s skeleton indicates he suffered from a number of afflictions, including arthritis, and had numerous broken bones.

Scientists at first did not realize the age and afflicted state of this specimen when he was first discovered. This led them to incorrectly theorize that male Neanderthals were hunched over when they walked.”

Then I saw this –

I had NO idea Patrick Stewart was a day over 30,000 years old. Go figure.
Margin notes for 4/9/2KX – A Prayer

April 9th, 2010

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:13-17, ESV)

Heavenly Father, the headlines today read:

“GINGRICH: Obama ‘most radical president ever’…

LIMBAUGH: Obama ‘inflicting untold damage on this great country’…

PALIN: Obama’s Nuke Stance Like Kid Who Says ‘Punch Me in Face’…

LIZ CHENEY: Obama Putting America on ‘Path to Decline’…

HANNITY: Obama ‘Is a Socialist’…

MARK LEVIN: Civil disobedience is coming…

SAVAGE: ‘Obama The Destroyer’…”‘”

– but I see few people “honoring” President Obama according to your Word. Forgive us.

Father, you know I have little or no accord with the President’s philosophies, policies or outlooks as I know them. But he is the one who occupies the highest office in the governmental structure under which I live – and in your kind providence, the one which we enjoy in this country. And as such, I want to honor him today. I want to do so by beseeching you on his behalf. He bears the weight of this great nation, and its role in the world upon his shoulders. He needs wisdom Father. He needs both the light and the desire to act in accordance with your truth, and the courage to do so. I have no sense of his spiritual state before you except that he makes no profession of saving faith in Jesus Christ as we understand it. I pray then above all else for his soul. That he will come to the end of his fallen condition, and cry out to you for mercy and forgiveness – and that because of the blood of Christ shed for human sin – you will forgive and save him. That he will be born again, and that Jesus Christ will be Lord of his life. I pray that you will surround him with wise advisers, and give him keen insight to the needs of this nation. That under his administration the Gospel will prosper and we will live in peace for the furtherance of the kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth.

Bless President Obama Father – he is our President. And we want him to both be supremely blessed in salvation, as well as rule as your Word says in 2 Samuel 23:3-4 – “The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.”

Save his family and keep them loving and intact. Keep him pure from sin and withhold his hand from unjust, unwise or otherwise detrimental decisions and polices. Give him the physical and emotional stamina he needs. Use him for your glory in this generation for as long as it is wise in your eyes to keep him in office.

Teach our hears to honor him according to your Word. And we ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ your only begotten son, and our Lord. Amen.
Christmas notes: 14 reasons why Jesus said He came to earth. #1

December 16th, 2009

Luke 4:18–19 / ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ”

Why did God, robe Himself in human flesh, come to this earth and be born of a virgin nearly 2,000 years ago? It almost seems incredulous doesn’t it? If it weren’t the absolute testimony of Scripture, one would be tempted to dismiss it out of hand. For some it smacks of myth and fairy tale. It is a truly amazing, supernatural wonder. To our unsaved friends and neighbors, the account can sound an awful lot like stories of alien abductions and extra-terrestrial visitations.

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Margin notes special: Sermon for Ivan Kellogg’s funeral.

November 30th, 2009

A number of you have asked for a copy of the sermon I preached at Ivan’s funeral – and so here it is.

It was a Sunday evening service – more than 20 years ago.

The Spirit of God was moving in a particularly palpable way that evening.

And Ivan – who was always sensitive to such seasons of God’s moving, was especially stirred in his own heart and mind.

That stirring gave way to an extemporaneous exhortation to all of us present.

None of us there will ever forget it. It was one of those unique experiences that perpetually live like glowing boundary makers in our memories.

BUT GOD!! he roared.

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At 3:55 am Monday morning, Nov. 23 – the World Lost a GREAT man.

November 24th, 2009

This is Ivan Kellogg. In the world’s words, he WAS a great man. In God’s, by grace, he IS a great man. Not as the World counts greatness, but as God does. For he never sought human accolades all the days I knew him. At least never as much as I could tell. He was my brother-in-law, youth leader (when I was young and REALLY a pain), fellow quartet member, my co-elder, and the best friend in life and ministry one could ever hope to have as a gift from God – because he would tell me the truth. Even when it really hurt. I loved him. And I can’t wait to see him again in glory. I will miss him everyday until then.

I wrote the following for him based upon: Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – 1 Cor. 15:51

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Margin notes and – The Manhattan Declaration

November 20th, 2009

“Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, ” (Jeremiah 29:6–8, ESV)

Thoughtful Christians often wonder how it is we can engage the broader culture, especially in regard to issues like same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia, and religious freedom. I personally struggle with finding meaningful, intelligent and practical ways to do so. Today, I believe I was able to do so in one way – by signing my name to the Manhattan Declaration.

Rather than me waxing eloquent on it, please take the time to follow THIS LINK or click on the logo above and read – consider – pray, and hopefully, sign. The statements and arguments are sound, cogent and form a wonderful platform to help you discuss these issues in personal settings with others. I highly encourage you to check it out.
Margin notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on 11/12/2K9

November 12th, 2009

Proverbs 12:16 – The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.

RAF: Knee-jerk reactions are the reactions of a jerk – or more properly, a fool. The one who is easily provoked, is the slave of the provocateur. The only buttons someone else can push, are the ones you give them access to. And if you cannot set the provocative aspects aside to stay focused upon the real issues at hand, you will be forever barred from arriving at solutions to problems. I know. I’ve been there. I have played the fool. Heaven help me to be more like my King, Jesus.

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Tim Challies and “Sexual Detox”

November 10th, 2009

Tim Challies over at CHALLIES.COM has written an excellent resource for those wrestling with sexual purity – which in our day can be almost all of us.

What is exciting, is that Tim went on to produce this in e-book format, and then posted it – which means you can download it free of charge from his website. You can click on the various links here or on the book image to the left.

If you are struggling in this area, or know someone who is – get this or recommend it to them.

If you are a parent, this ought to be on your own reading list, and made available to both your sons and daughters. Tim has produced something practical, Scriptural, helpful and sound. Everyone of us ought to go through it once. Know it or not, we ARE interacting with folks every day – even in our own homes for whom this is vital. Get it today. TIM CHALLIES.COM
Aonio who? Aonio Paleario – that’s who!

November 4th, 2009

Two recommendations – A PBS special, and a book on the life of Aonio Paleario. Say what?

A few weeks ago, Jack Otto (a friend in our congregation) asked me if I had seen a recent PBS special on Michelangelo? I hadn’t. Its titled “Michelangelo Revealed” and you can watch it on line HERE: (or click the PBS logo).

In any event, thanks to Jack’s largess in securing a DVD copy, I popped it in my player at home and was in for a treat. Without giving everything away (you really do need to watch it for yourself) it appears that Michelangelo became intimate with a group within the Roman Catholic Church called the “Spirituality” – which group had embraced the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and sought to reform the Church from within, even as Luther and others now outside were continuing their efforts at reform. The account is fantastic. One could easily conclude the great artist himself had come to embrace justification by faith before his death.

Now the work of this group – the “Spirituality” included publishing a little book titled “The Benefit of Christ’s Death.” This book clearly articulated justification by faith and may who were involved in its publication and distribution were eventually silenced by the Inquisition. Not the least of these were the book’s author.

I was so intrigued by the PBS special, I began to search out this title. It wasn’t long before I was rewarded with a page from Google Books. I was not disappointed. The salvation message was clear. But now I wanted to know more. My search ended at SOLID GROUND BOOKS and their reprint of this amazing little book, along with a biographical piece on the author – the little known (to us) scholar Aonio Paleario.

The biographical section reads a novel of high intrigue. And then, you get into this obviously ground-floor work wherein the author tries to call his Church back to the centrality of Christ, and the simple gospel of justification by faith alone in Christ alone.

My recommendation – watch the PBS special, and then get to SOLID GROUND BOOKS and order a copy of “The Italian Reformer – The Life and Martyrdom of Aonio Paleario and The Benefit of Christ’s Death.” You won’t be disappointed.
Margin Notes: Sheep and Goats – why baaa-ther?

October 29th, 2009

“Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.” (Matthew 25:32-33, ESV)

One issue which has made its appearance of late in Calvinistic circles, is one raised by a friend of mine in a discussion a while back. The basic assertion (as he expressed it) was “I was ALWAYS a sheep, and never a GOAT.”

So I’d like to take some time to unpack that idea, and see what exegetical evidence (if any) there might be for either making or denying such a claim.

Lemme warn ya – its a little long.

Read on.

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